ST has just launched its most powerful STM32 microcontroller so far, with the STM32V8 family, the first equipped with a Cortex-M85 core (clocked at up to 800 MHz) and manufactured with an 18nm FD-SOI process.
It’s a non-pin compatible update to the STM32H7 family that delivers up to 5,072 CoreMarks, greatly improves Edge AI performance thanks to Arm Helium and MVE, integrates up to 4MB eNVM (Embedded NVM), operates up to 140°C, and adds PCM (phase-change memory) radiation immunity. Two main parts have been launched in different configurations and packages: STM32V863 and STM32V873.
STM32V863/873 specifications:
- Core – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M85 CPU @ up to 800MHz with Arm Helium, Arm MVE, TrustZone…; up to 5,072 CoreMarks
- Multimedia accelerators – Chrom-ART 2D GPU, and JPEG hardware accelerator
- Memory/Storage
- 1.5 MB system SRAM with ECC (partial)
- 8 KB backup RAM
- 192 KB zero-wait state TCM
- Up to 512 KB TCM with ECC
- Up to 4 MB embedded NVM; 2x banks with 2MB capacity and ECC
- 2x 128 KB data NVM
- 256 KB system NVM
- External – Hexa-SPI, Octo SPI, 2x SD/SDIO/MMC, Fast Flexible memory controller (FMC) for DRAM, NOR, NAND
- Display Interfaces
- LCD TFT controller up to 600×480 (2x 16-bit) in internal RAM, up to 1280×800 (2x 16-bit) in external RAM
- Chrom-GRC controller
- HDMI CEC
- Camera internal – 16-bit parallel camera I/F
- Audio
- 2x SAI, 4x I2S (multiplexed with SPI), S/PDIF Rx
- MDF (Multi-Function Digital Filter) with 6 filters) + ADF (Audio Digital Filter)
- Networking – Gigabit Ethernet with TSN
- USB
- 1x USB HD, 1x USB FS with PHYs
- UCPD (USB-C PD) controller
- Other Peripherals
- 3x I2C + 2x I3C
- 5x USART, 5x UART, 1x LPUART
- 3x FD-CAN
- 6x SPI, four I2S-capable
- Analog
- 3x 12-bit ADC, 1x 12-bit DAC
- Die temperature sensor
- GPIO pins
- Timers/Control
- 3x motor control timers
- HR timer, 10x 16-bit timers
- 5x 16-bit low-power timers
- 4x 32-bit GP timers
- 2x watchdog timers, gtx timer
- FMAC + cordic
- RTC
- Debugging – Serial wire debug (SWD), JTAG, Embedded Trace Macrocell (ETM) – TBC
- System/Misc
- GPDMA/HPDMA
- SMPS, LDO (for RAM)
- Security
- Unique immutable ID
- Secure storage (HUK)
- STM32V873 only
- Secure boot/Upgrade (STiRoT)
- Crypto SAES/AES
- Secure debug
- OTF XSPI Enc./Dec.
- Anti-tampering
- Target SESIP3 & PSA L3 certifications
- Supply Voltage – No data
- Packages
- 68-pin VQFN (8 x 8 mm)
- 100-pin LQFP/TFBGA (14 x 14/8 x 8mm)
- 144-pin LQFP (20 x 20mm)
- 176-pin LQFP (24 x 24mm)
- 176+25-pin UFBGA (10 x 10mm)
- 273-pin TFBGA (14 x 14mm)
- Temperature Ranges – -40°C to 140°C
Twenty-four different STM32V8 parts are available with 2 MB or 4 MB eNVM, different security options, and a choice of packages from 68-pin VQFN up to 273-pin TFBGA.
The STM32 Cortex-M85 microcontroller is supported by the ST edge AI ecosystem, including the NanoEdge AI Studio IDE, STM32 Cube.AI, ST Edge AI developer cloud, and various application examples. The STM32V8 is compatible with popular AI frameworks, formats, and tools such as TensorFlow Lite, Keras, ONNX, PyTorch, and MATLAB. The company also plans to offer the STM32V8-DK development kit and the more cost-effective Nucleo-V8 board for evaluation, but those two are still shown as “Coming soon”.
Up to now, Renesas was the only silicon vendor manufacturing Arm Cortex-M85 microcontrollers with nine different RA8 families to date, and ST Microelectronics’ STM32V8 will soon add another option.
The STM32V8 already has one customer: SpaceX. The company leverages the radiation-hardened Cortex-M85 microcontroller in a mini laser found in Starlink satellites encountered in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Some selected partners have early-stage access to the STM32V8, OEM availability is scheduled for Q1 2026, and broader availability will follow soon after. Check out the “campaign” page and press release for additional details.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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